A 'Hero' born to raise money

Douglas County Sheriff's Deputy Jay Martin
"Hero"

DOUGLAS COUNTY - The Parker Chamber of Commerce presented Douglas County Sheriff’s Deputy Jay Martin with its ‘Hero Award’ for personally raising tens of thousands of dollars for others less fortunate. Ask Jay about it and he’ll tell you he was born to raise money.

“I’ve been doing it since I was a little kid. When I was five-years-old, I would go door to door holding a tin can, asking people for money,” Deputy Martin said. 

He was collecting donations for his younger brother and older sister who suffer from Muscular Dystrophy, a disorder that strips away muscle strength and grows worse with time.

Jay’s brother, 42, has been in a wheelchair since he was six. The disease took his sister’s mobility when she was 40. She’s 49 today. His siblings live in Idaho.

Deputy Jay Martin thanking the Chamber for his award

Jay has raised much more than $24,000 for the MDA over the years for research and treatment of the neuromuscular disease which affects one million Americans.
“I’ve been told ‘no’ a million times and many times ‘yes.’  It doesn’t bother me to ask for money. You won’t know if you don’t ask,” Jay says.

Jay’s heard ‘yes’ a lot lately.  Among other things, he spearheaded a benefit for the wife and young children of a fallen South Metro firefighter killed in an avalanche.  Without any recognition, he was able to obtain several donations for the family to help ease their pain during their difficult time.

"Deputy Martin’s a fundraising fiend. If you have a project and you need fundraising, Jay’s your guy,” Sgt. Ron Hanavan said. “He doesn’t have to do that. But he does out of the goodness of his heart.”

Jay’s also volunteered to help raise more than $1,800 for the Women’s Crisis Center.

“Simply put, Jay consistently sets the example of ‘commitment to the community’ and character. He never says ‘no’ and always steps up to help, regardless of how inconvenient the need may be,” Tim Moore, Bureau Chief of Operations, said. “He’s a fantastic representative of the public safety profession.”

Thanks to Jay, a disabled U.S. Army veteran is moving into a new home this fall. Martin helped build it for Cpl. Nick Orchowski.

“To say that Jay ‘volunteered’ his time is an understatement. In reality, Jay led the way to locate and get a general contractor to donate time and materials; it was Jay that lead the way to organize the Build Brigade of volunteers that helped during several stages of the build; and it was Jay that lead the way in getting several local elementary schools involved by helping them conduct fundraisers at their schools for the project,” Moore said.

Douglas County Sheriff David Weaver said he is proud of all of Deputy Jay Martin’s accomplishments.

“He truly is a hero who always goes above and beyond for his community or a fellow citizen in need and he inspires us all to give of ourselves,” the Sheriff said.

The deputy, who’s been on the force a decade, currently works in patrol with the Youth Education and Safety in Schools program. He created a public service announcement video that was played to all high school students before their proms that warned them about underage drinking.

Deputy Martin is a proud father and husband who has spent the majority of his career helping teach kids in Douglas County the value of public safety and how to handle the pitfalls of peer pressure and substance abuse.  Jay enjoys fitness, along with sporting and family events with his wife and kids. 

At the Parker Chamber of Commerce August 2012

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